A list of things I can (and will) photoshop for you, and a few things I won’t

This was supposed to be an outdoor session but unfortunately, it started raining right before the session time. As I discuss on my FAQ page, there are several options for you if i should happen to rain for your session time.  Nicole chose to move the session to her home, rather than to reschedule, which is a great option as I love capturing families in their own surroundings.

Another issue that Nicole had was that little Scarlett got a fairly significant boo boo on her chin before the session (isn’t that the way it always happens?), and Nicole was afraid it would show in the photos.

I reassured Nicole that Scarlett’s boo boo wouldn’t be too hard to remove in editing, so not to worry about it.  So I thought this might be a good post to go over what I will and will not edit in family portraits.

What I will photoshop:

  • That random zit that popped up right before your session.
  • The boogers in your two year olds nose (but lets try a Kleenex first please!)
  • The bruise your four year old got riding her bike (or boo boo on her chin).
  • Generally anything “temporary” that isn’t part of what you normally look like.
  • That ugly trashcan in the background that I saw, but knew it was worth it to remove in editing.
  • The horrible bike lane stripe on my favorite path.
  • Minor “wardrobe malfunctions” that result from clothing not laying perfectly because I don’t operate perfectly posed portrait sessions. For example: your bra strap is showing, or maybe your shirt or dress is poofed out in a weird way.

What I won’t photoshop:

  • “Can you remove this logo from the shirt I chose to wear?” (I might could depending on the location, print, etc, but if you want it done more than once or twice, I’m going to need to charge extra.) 
  • “Make me look 50 pounds smaller?” (You are beautiful, just the way you are.)
  • “Can you make most of the photo black and white and leave this one part in color?” (I just don’t want to.) 
  • “Can you get the wrinkles out of my husbands dress shirt?” (Usually, no…especially if it’s a print and not a solid color.)

So my general rule to myself when it comes to editing…I want you to look like you, because you are gorgeous.  But if something happened recently that isn’t a part of your normal, let me know and we can probably work on that.

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